Public Approval for State Government Institutions

There are a number of state level institutions designed to limit the impact of special interests on government or to facilitate citizen participation in government. These include legislative term limits, ballot initiatives, governors' line item veto power and public funding for legislative and gubernatorial candidates. While most of these state government institutions are fairly common around the United States, relatively little is known about Americans' opinion of them. This policy note explores Americans' views on these features as well as the relationship between survey respondents' partisanship and their approval of these state government institutions. To assess the public's attitudes on these political institutions, researchers at the Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri conducted a national survey of 1,000 adults. The survey was administered as part of the 2007 Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES), a 10,000 person survey conducted through the collaborative efforts of a consortium of universities. The 2007 CCES was administered in November 2007 by Polimetrix, an Internet survey firm located in Palo Alto, California.Includes bibliographical reference

Drug delivery systems for photodynamic therapy: the potentiality and versatility of electrospun nanofibers

Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a promising approach for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including oncological and infectious diseases. This minimally invasive and localized therapy is based on the production of reactive oxygen species able to destroy cancer cells and inactivate pathogens by combining the use of photosensitizers (PSs), light, and molecular oxygen. To overcome the drawbacks of drug systemic administration, drug delivery systems (DDS) can be used to carrier the PSs, allowing higher therapeutic efficacy and minimal toxicological effects. Polymeric nanofibers produced by electrospinning emerged as powerful platforms for drug delivery applications. Electrospun nanofibers exhibit outstanding characteristics, such as large surface-area-to-volume ratio associated with high drug loading, high porosity, flexibility, ability to incorporate and release a wide variety of therapeutic agents, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Due to the versatility of this technique, fibers with different morphologies and functionalities, including drug release profile can be produced. The possibility of scalability makes electrospinning even more attractive for the development of DDS. This review aims to explore and show an up to date of the huge potential of electrospun nanofibers as DDS for different PDT applications and discuss the opportunities and challenges in this field.The authors are thankful to project UID/CTM/00264/2021 of 2C2T – Centro de Ciência e Tecnologia Têxtil, funded by National Founds through FCT/MCTES- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. D.P.F. is thankful to CEECIND/02803/2017 and S.M.C. to the FCT PhD Scholarship (SFRH/BD/147517/2019), founded by National Founds through FCT/MCTES

Plasmid DNA hydrogels for biomedical applications

In the last few years, our research group has focused on the design and development of plasmid DNA (pDNA) based systems as devices to be used therapeutically in the biomedical field. Biocompatible macro and micro plasmid DNA gels were prepared by a cross-linking reaction. For the first time, the pDNA gels have been investigated with respect to their swelling in aqueous solution containing different additives. Furthermore, we clarified the fundamental and basic aspects of the solute release mechanism from pDNA hydrogels and the significance of this information is enormous as a basic tool for the formulation of pDNA carriers for drug/gene delivery applications. The co-delivery of a specific gene and anticancer drugs, combining chemical and gene therapies in the treatment of cancer was the main challenge of our research. Significant progresses have been made with a new p53 encoding pDNA microgel that is suitable for the loading and release of pDNA and doxorubicin. This represents a strong valuable finding in the strategic development of systems to improve cancer cure through the synergetic effect of chemical and gene therapy

A preliminary analysis on gender aspects in transport systems and mobility services: presentation of a survey design

As sustainability is becoming a common practice in planning transport systems and mobility services, the designation and management of gender issues are of paramount importance. TInnGO is a European Project that has developed a network of 10 national Hubs to build the capacity to generate and apply evidence on gender equality and transport issues at the European level. This paper presents the project activities by introducing a relevant framework and exploring user mobility experiences based on gender to identify diversified needs and requirements. This process relies on the combination of a review of current gender-oriented experiences and practices in mobility with focus group activities conducted in four different EU cities. The insights obtained from these activities supported the design of a survey to collect information on socioeconomic, personal, and operational aspects to serve a gender-oriented transport analysis for all the Hubs. These preliminary analyses identified the main issues related to the female mobility experience, namely safety, security, accessibility, and transport reliability. Future research on the data collected through the survey would help operators in successfully improving their mobility offer to women.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Beyond the “Pain Matrix,” inter-run synchronization during mechanical nociceptive stimulation

Pain is a complex experience that is thought to emerge from the activity of multiple brain areas, some of which are inconsistently detected using traditional fMRI analysis. One hypothesis is that the traditional analysis of pain-related cerebral responses, by relying on the correlation of a predictor and the canonical hemodynamic response function (HRF)- the general linear model (GLM)- may under-detect the activity of those areas involved in stimulus processing that do not present a canonical HRF. In this study, we employed an innovative data-driven processing approach- an inter-run synchronization (IRS) analysis- that has the advantage of not establishing any pre-determined predictor definition. With this method we were able to evidence the involvement of several brain regions that are not usually found when using predictor-based analysis. These areas are synchronized during the administration of mechanical punctate stimuli and are characterized by a BOLD response different from the canonical HRF. This finding opens to new approaches in the study of pain imaging

Rubric’s development process for assessment of project management competences

Assessment rubrics are recognized for their positive effects, being defined as an evaluative instrument that establishes assessment criteria and performance levels. In this sense, assessment rubrics can be associated with professional practices for more authentic assessment processes. In the context of Project Management, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) has developed a framework that establishes the individual competences for professionals working in the area, the Individual Competence Baseline (ICB). The objective of this study is to propose a process of rubric development for competence assessment in Project Management. A rubric for Leadership competence was developed to show the applicability and relevance of the proposed process. The research methodology adopted in the study was Design Science Research. The application and evaluation of this rubric in a pilot study show that the rubric development process allowed the creation of a specific rubric for the assessment of leadership competence. This paper guides those who need to develop and assess project management competences, and it is intended to propose a replicable process for the other ICB competences.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hyaluronan functionalized pH-responsive calcium carbonate nanoparticles for local treatment of breast cancer

[Excerpt] Introduction: Current radio- and chemotherapies are not efficient and many tumors remain resistant to conventional cancer treatments. Specific properties and signaling molecules from tumor microenvironment (TME) have been explored to increase treatment efficacy. An example is the acidic pH of the TME that has been explored to develop stimuli responsive release systems. Herein, we obtained biocompatible calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanoparticles that are stable at neutral pH but dissolve at acidic conditions and evaluated their potential as a drug carrier for local cancer treatment. METHODS: CaCO3 nanoparticles were produced by co-precipitation of calcium chloride (CaCl2) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) in the presence of ethylene glycol [1]. Rhodamine was encapsulated as a model drug. The morphology and diameter of the nanoparticles were determined by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic laser scattering. The particles were coated by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of poly-L-lysine and hyaluronic acid (HA). The release was studied in phosphate buffered saline at pH 6.3 and 7.4. Cultures of two breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3) and a healthy epithelial cell line MCF10A (control) were observed under confocal laser scanning microscopy to assess particles internalization and their effect on cell viability (live/dead staining) and metabolic activity (Alamar Blue). [...]Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, grants CEECIND/02842/2017, SFRH/BPD/85790/2012; project PTDC/CTM-REF/0022/2020)

Using Lanthanides as Probes for Polyelectrolyte-Metal Ion Interactions. Hydration Changes on Binding of Trivalent Cations to Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TFM-4SWFNW8-1/1/aadd2972e76576ca7bf5c347abd5a68

Donepezil-based hybrids as multifunctional anti-Alzheimer's disease chelating agents: Effect of positional isomerization

The intricate and multifactorial nature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires the development of compounds able to hit different pathophysiological targets, such as cholinergic dysfunction, deposits of amyloid beta (A beta) peptide and metal dyshomeostasis. In order to continue the search for new anti-AD drugs, a design strategy was once more followed based on repositioning donepezil (DNP) drug, by ortho-attaching a benzylpiperidine mimetic of DNP moiety to a hydroxyphenyl-benzimidazole (BIM) chelating unit (compound 1). Herein, compound 1 and a positional isomer 2 are compared in terms of their potential multiple properties: both present good acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition (low mu molar range) and are moderate/good inhibitors of A beta self- and Cu-mediated aggregation, the inhibition process being mainly due to ligand intercalation between the p-sheets of the fibrils; compound 1 has a higher chelating capacity towards Cu2+ and Zn2+ (pCu = 14.3, pZn = 6.4, pH 7.4, C-I/C-M = 10, C-M = 10(-6) M) than 2 (pCu = 10.7, pZn = 6.3), attributed to its ability to establish a tridentate (N,O,O) coordination to the metal ion. Both compounds are eligible as drug candidates for oral administration but compound 1 shows improved neuroprotective role by completely preventing Ali-induced cell toxicity

Development of chitosan-gelatin nanofibers with cellulose nanocrystals for skin protection applications

In this work, natural-based and biodegradable nanofibers were produced by electrospinning for drug delivery and wound dressing applications, using gelatin (Gel), chitosan (CS), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and natural propolis extract. The polymeric formulations and electrospinning parameters were optimized, resulting in the development of Gel/CS nanofibers with mean diameters of 97 nm. CNC were successfully introduced into the optimized Gel/CS solution and the viscosity and conductivity values were recorded. The developed nanofibers were characterized using FESEM, ATR-FTIR, TGA and WCA. The incorporation of different CNC concentrations improved the solutions’ electrospinnability and the membranes’ physical integrity. Defect-free and uniform Gel/CS/CNC nanofibers were observed by FESEM images, and the fibers’ diameters slight increased. The hydrophilic character was maintained after the CNC incorporation. Finally, Gel/CS/CNC/Propolis nanofibers demonstrated antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative (E. coli) and Gram-positive (S. aureus) bacteriaThe authors are thankful to TSSiPRO project, operation code NORTE01-0145-FEDER-000015. The authors are also grateful to FCT, Portugal for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and to 2C2T (UID/CTM/00264/2019). D. P. Ferreira thank the national funding by FCT through the individual scientific employment program-contract (CEECIND/02803/2017) and S. M. Costa thank the FCT PhD Scholarship (SFRH/BD/147517/2019)